Broker/trainer Gee Dunsten has a cheap, easy way to generate profits: Use your e-mail, along with other Internet tools. Gee, a graduate of the University of Maryland, entered the real estate business in 1972, progressing from sales to management to owner/broker in 10 years.

He is a senior CRS instructor of the RS Council of the National Association of Realtors, on the GRI faculty for numerous states, a featured speaker for many state conventions, and an adjunct faculty member of Salisbury State University. Co-author of the book "Mega-Million Dollar Secrets," Gee is featured in Howard Britton Seminars ... Sharing Success, Star of the Month Club, Star Power and Marketing Scrapbook.

Gee Dunsten

Leroy Hauser

Along with his partner and fellow trainer and motivational expert, Leroy Hauser, Gee has launched a new user-friendly communications system called "The Interagent" that particularly targets the real estate professional.

Here is Gee's take on how Internet marketing can benefit agents.

A.N.: Where are agents missing the boat on Internet technology?
G.D.: I think the first thing is that a lot of them don't understand the capabilities and how to harness technology to increase the bottom line. The learning curve is steep. I think the majority of agents are focused on trying to do more business instead of trying to make a bigger profit. There is a huge difference. Technology, especially with e-mail communication, creates an opportunity for agents to prospect at little or no cost. By using e-mail they are saving huge sums of money. Every month, I have mailed about 4,800 postcards a month to spheres of influence, a geographic farm, and a large out-of-town Realtor base to generate referrals because I work in a beach resort community.

A.N.: What gave you the idea to create your own Internet marketing tools?
G.D.: Prospecting is one of the most important jobs a Realtor does. If I could reduce the amount of snail-mail postcards -- which cost me in the range of 38 to 40 cents each to mail -- and reduce that number by at least 20 percent via e-mail, at the end of the year, I could save a lot of money. You can do the math to see what I mean. Using e-mail saves me about $4,700 a year. So by shifting to e-mail, I just generated an additional profit of almost $5,000, not to mention the benefit of getting the information instantly and the impact of doing something no one else is doing. As a result, my partner, Leroy, and I began to figure out that there aren't any good postcard systems out there that we liked. The ones we looked at have a lot of bells and whistles, but they were all attachments. A lot of people still don't know how to open files that come as attachments. And those who do are concerned that a file or attachment may take a while to download because they don't know what they are getting.

A.N.: So what did you create instead?
G.D.: We were searching for an alternative to satisfy our requirements, so we created our own. What we created with Interagent is e-mail letters, postcards, flyers that are not attachments, and when you open your mail, it appears on the screen. What Interagent represents is 10 categories of postcards: just listed; just sold; open house; thank you; invitation; confirmation cards; anniversary; and holiday. Each has multiple styles to choose from within each category. For holidays, for example, we have three styles of holiday cards to choose from, so you can send one a month. We are doing the same thing with feature sheets -- five categories targeted to specific groups -- and those include: to other Realtors; to people in the neighborhood; to past customers and clients; to best buying prospects; and open house type of flyer. And in those categories there are different styles.

A.N.: What is the point of difference between Interagent and other e-mail programs?
G.D.: The benefit or point of difference is that the subscriber to Interagent gets a year's subscription with a password, and they can go on the site, download anything, and e-mail from the site to one person or a group of people. The mailings are also all customized for them, so their pictures and companies will appear. They can e-mail photos to put on feature sheets, and they can drag and drop pictures onto their e-mail. We have instructions on how to do that. It requires the most minimal tech knowledge.

A.N.: Are you a techie?
G.D.: No, I am not a techie. I didn't know anything. The joke is that if Gee Dunston can do it, anybody can do it. The other benefit is that we will continue to add more tools and continue to expand our library of communications for our agents. We'll have more choices and more alternatives.

A.N.: Aside from Interagent, what do you recommend agents start with in terms of technology?
G.D.: I think e-mail will become the top communication choice. I think the first thing every agent should do is take a Windows 95 course and get up to speed on basic computer functions. Then they need to make an assessment of what their real needs are. It is critical to be more proactive in prospecting. Harnessing the power of the computer and getting a good contact management software that is specifically for real estate is critical.

A.N.: Do you sell equipment, software, or just make recommendations?
G.D.: No, I just make recommendations. The Residential Sales Council of NAR has a list of recommended products. Realtors need to look at what is available and then look at their own requirements and their own levels of computer expertise. Some programs are designed to be more basic, and some are more sophisticated.

A.N.: Where do you begin training with agents?
G.D.: Most of my speaking and coaching is for experienced agents. I take them to the next level. I am not only a speaker; I am very active in real estate sales. You could say that I'm in the trenches. I list and sell real estate every week and take my own advice. The classes I do are in the areas of listing and selling, builders and new homes ... the everyday aspects of the business.

A.N.: How can Web sites be used to one's advantage?
G.D.: The biggest thing is providing meaningful information to the surfer. The Web site surfer is not interested in who you are. They're interested in finding what they want. Capture their attention quickly, and deliver information quickly. They want to know the area and the community before they look at houses. Having information about the area is critical. Once the surfer identifies your site as a place to get enormous amounts of information, they will bookmark your site and decide they don't need to look anywhere else. When they keep coming back to your site, they begin to have a relationship with you.

A.N.: Any other helpful hints?
G.D.: The challenge is being found on the Web. If people can't find you, you might as well be invisible. I typed in "real estate" on Alta Vista and got more than 4 million matches. So if you are only relying on someone finding you, that's like asking someone to find you in the telephone directory without knowing your name.

Published: January 27, 1998

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Blanche is a renowned author of five real estate books. Her newest, Bubbles, Booms and Busts: Make Money In Any Real Estate Market, McGraw-Hill, was rave-reviewed by The New York Times. She was also selected from hundreds of real estate experts to contribute to Donald Trump's book, Trump: The Best Real Estate Advice I Ever Received: 100 Top Experts Share Their Strategies, Rutledge Hill Press, and is featured on page 68. Order Now Review - Honors In 2006, Blanche was selected among scores of candidates to author two consumer real estate guidebooks for the National Association of Realtors: The NAR Guide to Home Buying, and The NAR Guide to Home Selling, Wiley & Sons. She is currently planning two new books for the NAR and its members.       Known for her keen insight into real estate industry issues and for her ability to make complex subjects easy to understand, Blanche is a sought-after keynote and continuing education speaker. Real estate organizations from MLSs, to brokerages, to franchisors, to associations hire her to provide up-to-the-minute analysis of real estate industry news and advice on how to improve revenues. Her passionate delivery, peppered with stinging wit, is a huge hit with audiences and fans. Don Klein, CEO Greater Nashville Association of Realtors, Blanche Evans, Richard Courtney, president 2007, GRAR "The GNAR membership meeting last week featured Blanche Evans as the keynote speaker. Her comments and insights resonated extremely well with those in attendance and we have had many requests for copies of her PowerPoint Presentation. She was a terrific part of the membership meeting and convention program!" - Don Klein, CEO Greater Nashville Association of Realtors Coverage from WSMV, Nashville - 8-14-2007 That Interview Guy - Get Inside The Head Of Today's Generation 2007 AE Institute Session - To purchase 2006 AE Institute Session - Parts 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 HouseValues Mastermind call - Parts 1 2 Blanche's fireside chat with Jeremy Conaway, HAR - Click here. For more articles by Blanche, click here.